12 Monkeys Episode 6 Review: Cassie Takes A Trippy Walk Through The Red Forest

With "The Red Forest" we pick exactly where we left off last week. After destroying the virus (so he thinks) Cole splinters back to the future (2043) and finds the West Seven in charge. It's been two years since they took over the facility. He also finds Jones. She remembers all the other men she sent back in time but has no recollection of Cole. She views herself as a failure. Jones finally believes him after checking his blood.

AltJones

Apparently they still have the internet in the dystopian future. They discover Cassie was murdered in 2015. This altered the timeline and caused the virus to be released one year earlier in Chechnya by some "intelligence agency".

One Eyed Ramse

Cole asks to be taken to the boss of the West Seven. Surprise! It is Ramse with an eye patch. He says he watched Cole die and buried him. Cole convinces Ramse that he must let him use the machine to save mankind. This will use up their remaining electricity though. Marcus disapproves and shoots Jones (she will die from her wound). Ramses snaps Marcus' neck. Before Cole splinters, Jones tells him that sacrifice is necessary and he should ask her alternate self about it sometime.

There's A New Dynamic Duo In Town

Cole goes back to 2015 to set things right. He kidnaps Cassie's old boyfriend Aaron. He finally wins Aaron over when he mentions Operation Troy (since Aaron just saw something about that in his boss Senator Royce's office).

Apparently No One In This Organization Has Names. That Would Be Rough When It's Time To Do Payroll.

The Pale Man locks Cassie in a warehouse. A mysterious woman is introduced but we dont know her name. They force her to drink something that appears to have psychedelic effects. "You're walking through a red forest. The grass is tall." Then there's something about a man and a house in the distance. The man is wearing a gas mask. He is the Witness. The guy later appears for real. What's up with that?

Aaron and Cole go to rescue Cassie but Aaron shoots the previous version of Cole (thus giving the current one the same injury). They are not successful on the first try but they are on the second. Well they stand around and chit chat for a while and then pretty much just waltz out of there. Cole returns to the future.

Back at her grandparent's bookstore, Aaron tries to console Cassie. She seems pretty shaken up if all she saw was some red trees, a house deconstructing/reconstructing and some weird dude in a gas mask. But what do I know?

Throughout the episode Cole is suffering the physical effects of time traveling. With each time jump he feels like he's being torn apart. He asks Jones how many more jumps he can make and are they enough? She says they have to be. The time machine isnt fairing any better and the core may blow any time.

This Job Is Killing Me.

Miscellanea:

A jinn a causality loop according to Jones. Why do we need to know this?
Aaron crashes his car into another one after Cole kidnapped him. What was that supposed to accomplish (beside giving Aaron a bloody nose)?
Another Marty McFly reference. Too funny.
Lots of people told Cassie she was special this week.
I dont trust Aaron. Anyone want to wager as to if he's a bad guy working for the 12 Monkeys?
We saw that video about Adam Wexler (digital terrorist) so I assume he's involved in this mystery.

Who Is This Wienie?

Favorite Quotes:

Jones describes Ramse as "a good man in any reality".
"You're walking through a red forest. The grass is tall..."- mysterious woman to Cassie.
"Sacrifice is the only way"- Jones to Cole.
"You're important and he has plans for you"- mysterious woman to Cassie about the Witness.
"For the time being our focus has to be on Operation Troy".- Jones
"You and I are breaking the unwritten rules of the universe Mr Cole. Time, it's going to take what it's owed. It will kill you...eventually."- Jones to Cole.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). We are slowly getting some answers to what caused the virus to be released. Cole screwed up one time line, thus causing Cassie to be killed. But he goes back and fixes it. Cole's health being affecting by the time jumps (as well as the condition of the time machine) add a sense of urgency to his mission.